Made in the USA: Cheeses to Celebrate Independence Day

Celebrate Independence Day with a cheese plate that is “Made in the USA!” Tripp, domestic cheese buyer in our Cambridge shop, is recommending four cheeses for this July 4th (“four for the fourth!”). All of the cheeses hail from Vermont and represent varying textures, styles and milk types. Whether you try one or all of these cheeses, we think you’ll be as impressed with what is happening on the American cheese scene as we are!

Our domestic cheese buyers work very closely with the Cellars at Jasper Hill to source the best-tasting wheels of Cabot Clothbound – we’re the only shop to regularly make the trip to Vermont to personally taste and select our batches of the cheese. The end result is a rich, buttery English-style cheddar with notes of sweet cream and toasted nuts. Jasper Hill’s cheeses were a staff top 10 pick in our 2011 survey – in large part because of this cheese.

Blue Ledge Farm is a small, family owned and operated goat dairy. A line of vegetable ash runs through the center of this cheese which is both creamy and gently tangy, with a hint of salt on the finish. It pairs beautifully with a drizzle of honey and a glass of fruity rosé.

Cheesemaker Peter Dixon (a cornerstone of the Vermont cheesemaking world) uses milk from nearby Jersey Girl Farm to make this cheese and all of Consider Bardwell’s cow milk cheeses. Dorset is washed as it ages – the resulting texture is rich and buttery with flavors that are lightly sharp and deeply savory. Notes of nuts and hay mean it pairs well with a German lager.